April 22

April 22, 2009 by OrientSee.

 It was bright and warm when I left home. I was admiring a pair of Cardinals, especially the female when I noticed that the sun had highlighted the verdigris coating of moss on a tree trunk. It’s not a copper roof but it is definitely verdigris green.

Rosie’s pond was jumping with Starlings masquerading as shorebirds. They were feeding off the mudflats like Yellowlegs. It was a little strange to see them behave that way. A nearby duck was duckwalking across the same mud.

I came upon my first  Taraxacum officinale of the year.  From Wikipedia, the English name dandelion is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning “lion’s tooth”, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves.

I was watching the Ospreys when suddenly I realized a sad fact. A new Osprey platform has been raised in a different part of Belle Isle. There had been incidents in the past with planes passing directly over the old platform. There is probably a least one dead Osprey because of its old location at the end of the Orient Heights train yard. The new platform meant that the old one had to go. Sometime in the last few days the pole was cut and the platform came down.  It was necessary  both for the birds and the planes but after two successful breeding seasons, the Osprey weren’t told. I watched them carry nesting material and then place it atop one of the steel power poles in the yard. Since there is no real platform on these poles, the sticks simply tumbled to the ground. They seemed mightily confused. It was very sad to watch.

Over in the park, this pair of Northern Shovelers were in the Muskrat Pond which has a new higher vantage point to watch from.

The Boardwalk was quiet but as I left, this Snowy Egret plopped down.

The next photo is not very sharp but it is my first butterfly of the year. Bumblebees, spider silk and butterflies are proof positive of Spring’s arrival.

Walking towards the Tower, I noticed a mini-flock of birds banging around a tree. A little closer and I saw that they were Brown-headed Cowbirds just fussing about.

There was a lot to see and enjoy this morning but the Ospreys cast some gloom. I am used to seeing these huge birds on the south flats, perched on the two short poles  or up on the tall telephone pole with the platform. For me, it’s a sign that everything is fine at Belle Isle. To have them pass overhead is a stirring sight that I have enjoyed many times.  I know that they will still be around  but now they will be in a more remote place and not as easy to see.  I wish them well.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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